Chicago Cubs: The most prodigious base stealers in team history
#3 – Jimmy Ryan (1885-1900)
With an average of 30.8 steals a season, Jimmy Ryan played in Chicago 15 out of his 18 years as a professional ballplayer. While with Chicago Ryan played in 1662 games. While batting for a Chicago average of .308 he stole 370 bases. Ryan’s most impressive season was back in 1888 where he had a stat line of .332/.377/.515 and stole career-high 60 bases.
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#2 – Bill Lange (1893-99)
The seven-year career of Bill Lange was very impressive. In only 813 games in Chicago Lange managed to steal almost half the amount of games played. His 400 steals in only two behind the all-time Cubs leader. Lange had an outstanding year back in 1896 where he not only hit .326/.414/.465 but he stole a team single-season record of 84 bases that still stands today.
#1 – Frank Chance (1898-1912)
Like Anson above Frank Chance was a player and a manager during his time as a professional baseball player. Chance is considered to be the winningest manager in the post-1900s in Cubs franchise history. As a player Chance played in 1,275 games during his 15 years in Chicago. This all-time leading speed demon stole 402 bases in his luxurious career. Chance’s most famous season came back in 1906 when he led the team in runs (103) and in stolen bases (57).
As you can see we had some tremendous speed demons that played a huge part in the success of this franchise. From MVPs to World Series winners there is no doubt a stolen base has played a huge part in games for the Chicago Cubs. Maybe one day we will see a modern-day player like Javier Baez be on this list.